Characterization of electrically evoked field potentials in the medial prefrontal cortex and orbitofrontal cortex of the rat: modulation by monoamines.

Medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) play critical roles in cognition and behavioural control. Glutamatergic, GABAergic, and monoaminergic dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex has been hypothesised to underlie symptoms in neuropsychiatric disorders. Here we characterised electrically-evoked field potentials in the mPFC and OFC. Electrical stimulation evoked field potentials in layer V/VI of the mPFC and layer V of the OFC. The earliest component (approximately 2ms latency) was insensitive to glutamate receptor blockade and was presumed to be presynaptic. Later components were blocked by 6,7-dinitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (DNQX (20µM)) and were assumed to reflect monosynaptic (latency 4–6ms) and polysynaptic activity (latency 6–40ms) mediated by glutamate via AMPA/kainate receptor. In the mPFC, but not the OFC, the monosynaptic component was also partly blocked by 2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid (AP-5 (50–100µM)) indicating the involvement of NMDA receptors. Bicuculline (3–10µM) enhanced the monosynaptic component suggesting electrically-evoked and/or glutamate induced GABA release inhibits the monosynaptic component via GABAA receptor activation. There were complex effects of bicuculline on polysynaptic components. In the mPFC both the mono- and polysynaptic components were attenuated by 5-HT (10–100µM) and NA (30 and 60µM) and the monosynaptic component was attenuated by DA (100µM). In the OFC the mono- and polysynaptic components were also attenuated by 5-HT (100µM), NA (10–100µM) but DA (10–100µM) had no effect. We propose that these pharmacologically characterised electrically-evoked field potentials in the mPFC and OFC are useful models for the study of prefrontal cortical physiology and pathophysiology.